Xcape Program Director Dawn Blanco is a professional dancer, choreographer and teacher. She began her training at age seven and is trained in ballet, modern, jazz, musical theater and hip hop. Blanco attended Temple University and Kutztown University. She has also studied dance at Broadway Dance Center, Alvin Ailey Studio, Steps on Broadway and Dance New Amsterdam in New York City. She holds a K–12 teaching certification in the state of Pennsylvania and Dance Masters of America certifications in Ballet, Jazz and Modern Dance Instruction.

Dawn has 15 years' teaching experience and has choreographed for nationally competitive dance ensembles, soloists and high school dance teams. A 2012 and 2016 Freddy Awards nominee for choreography, she has won several awards in recognition of her creative choreography. Blanco was on staff as a dance instructor at Penn State University, Lehigh University and Marywood University. She presently is a full-time dance teacher and the Director of the Studio Dance Academy at William Allen High School.

Teacher/Choreographer: Portia McDuffie

Portia McDuffie is the Hip Hop instructor at Xcape. She is the Choreographer for the Xcape Junior Company and Hip Hop Company. Portia started her dance career as a member of the William Allen High School Dance Academy and a dancer at Xcape. She has performed throughout the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and New Jersey and was a featured dancer in local artists music videos. She graduated William Allen in 2006. Portia found her passion for teaching and started teaching at Xcape in 2010. She has also taught after school dance programs at Broughal Middle School (Bethlehem), South Mountain Middle School (Allentown) and the Salvation Army (Allentown). She brings fun, energy and creativity to her classes.

Teacher: Malynda Mason

Malynda Mason otherwise known as “Miss Mindy” has been dancing since she was four years old. She has trained in many different styles of dance including jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, and hip hop and participated in many dance competitions and recitals growing up. In 2006, she started her next journey in dance at William Allen High School in the Studio Dance Academy where she studied as a junior and senior. At Allen, she was also a part of the Allegro Dance Team. Mindy graduated from William Allen in 2009 and found out about XCAPE Dance Studio and fell even more in love with dance. In 2010, Mindy began assistant teaching at XCAPE while continuing to take classes. Mindy was a member of both the Xcape Contemporary and Hip-Hop companies. Presently, Miss Mindy is a teacher at XCAPE Dance Studio as well as a teacher for many after school programs in the Allentown area. She absolutely loves teaching the youth of this community, especially watching them grow to be talented dancers.

Office Manager: Jonathan Ortiz

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